[NU Sports] An orange crusher

[Tom Maycock]

> I think it was Brandon Paul guarding Shurna and the double teams they threw at 
> Shurna when he had the ball.  They were determined to take the ball out of his 
> hands which they did.  He was 7-10 in the first half and 1-7 in the second.  


Yep. The Illini played much, much better defense in the second half, particularly on Shurna. The low shooting percentage was mostly a result of taking much tougher shots, rather than just going cold. The unfortunate part was that Sobo and Crawford in particular just couldn't drain the few good looks they were getting. Well, that and the fact that NU isn't blessed with a couple more players who can create they own shot or get to the hole without help. 

Aside from good D and rebounding, the other bright spots were that Cobb looked much better this game (although still not completely back to form), and that Marcotullio was able to play more, and better, minutes. 

Tom